The Latest: Jury in corruption case released until next week

A jury deciding the fate of two Baltimore detectives deliberated for a few hours but has not reached a decision.

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Blake has released the jurors until Monday morning. There have not been court sessions on Fridays during the trial and she decided to stick with that schedule.

The jury of nine women and three men asked two questions during their Thursday deliberations.

There were 32 witnesses introduced by the government during the nearly three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

That included testimony from four ex-detectives who detailed astonishing levels of police criminality after reaching plea agreements with the government.

2:15 p.m.

A police corruption trial in Baltimore is in the hands of a jury now that defense attorneys and federal prosecutors have completed closing arguments and a rebuttal.

Jurors heard from 32 witnesses during the roughly three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. That included testimony from four ex-detectives who detailed astonishing levels of police criminality after reaching plea agreements with the government.

Defense attorney Jenifer Wicks delivered a fiery closing argument on behalf of Detective Marcus Taylor, one of two detectives who are fighting robbery, extortion and racketeering charges.

She told jurors Thursday that the government got a parade of “professional liars” as witnesses.

Leo Wise is one of the assistant U.S. attorneys tasked with prosecuting the disbanded Gun Trace Task Force. He says both Taylor and Detective Daniel Hersl “preyed upon the weak and the vulnerable” as members of the rogue unit.

This version corrects the defense lawyer’s last name to Wicks, not Wick.

12:10 a.m.

Lawyers are set to deliver closing arguments for the last of two Baltimore detectives facing racketeering and robbery charges, their trial stemming from one of the worst U.S. police corruption scandals in recent memory.

Prosecutors and lawyers for the other detective made their closing arguments Wednesday afternoon as the high-profile case winds down. Then, after attorneys for the second detective deliver their final arguments Thursday, government prosecutors are set for a rebuttal.

Over the past 2 ½ weeks, the jury trial has been dominated by testimony from disgraced ex-detectives who have pleaded guilty to a slew of corruption charges arising from a since-disbanded elite police unit once praised for their fight against illegal guns on Baltimore’s streets.

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